Capitol Hill families - If you moved to NW or burbs for school, do you have any regrets?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We raised our kids in Arlington too, after moving to the DMV from elsewhere, not really being city people, and knowing nothing about DC. We’ve now lived in the area for decades, and moved to the city as young empty nesters several years ago.

There’s no doubt that our kids had a nice upbringing in a safe area with good schools. And they have fond memories of their childhood. And they like the DMV well enough that they have all settled here.

But none of them (four) is even considering living or raising their families in a place like Arlington (and, yes, they could afford it). It’s just that after being out of it for a while it’s now painfully obvious just how white, sterile and insular it was, and none of them want that either for themselves or their kids.

Did your kids go to Yorktown? My kids are at Gunston. It is definitely not rich, white and entitled.

Our kids attended North Arlington schools. No one with any real money moves from DC to South Arlington for the schools. Not because they’re not good - they are - but because they’re not perceived as good.

You’re the minority if you did.

I am the PP. My kids are in the bilingual program so my kids take a bus to Gunston instead of walking to our N. Arlington middle school. Gunston has great teachers and we are all glad we left the hill.

That’s great - good for you. But you didn’t move to South Arlington I see.

Why do I (or OP) have to move to S Arlington? OP should move where she wants. My point was just that much of Arlington and many of it's schools are not white, sterile and insular. Yes you can find that but you can also avoid it. And either way you get better schools and less crime than the hill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is sad to see how DCPS' refusal to create a rigorous MS/HS path on CH (plus the increased crime) is sending CH backwards. When I moved there in the mid-90s, no one with kids would stay there once the kids were born. My neighbors all moved to Arlington. Then slowly over the last 25 years families stayed and invested in the neighborhood elementaries, and then played the charter lottery for MS/HS but since that is nowhere near a sure thing---now there's a return to the flight to suburbia.

Not sure where you're coming from on this. We've been on the Hill for more than 25 years. Most of the families of older kids and teens around our block, families we've known for more than a decade, now stay for middle and high school. For HS, kids go to Latin, BASIS, Banneker, Walls or maybe a Catholic school like DeMatha, SJC (co-ed), Gonzaga, St. Anselm's or Bishop O'Connell or Ireton in VA. Many of these kids have gone on to great colleges. When we bought our house almost 20 years ago, most high SES families of older kids were still leaving. Catholics were more likely to stay past ES than others for parochial schools, particularly families with boys. Yes, there's been an uptick in crime lately, but it's a post Covid issue that seems likely to subside eventually. For those of us who arrived in the last century, crime doesn't seem nearly as bad as it was 20 or 25 years ago. We work in Arlington but have zero desire to leave the 5-bedroom house we bought for less than 600K for the burbs, or our terrific church and BSA and GS scouting communities either.

We are talking about PUBLIC schools. Isn’t that obvious to you?

What's obvious to anybody who's been on the Hill for decades, like we have, is that many high SES public school CH families who dig in to stay still wind up at parochial high schools. They started out in ECE programs at Maury, Brent, SWS, Watkins and a few other schools, stayed for ES, maybe did MS at Stuart Hobson, BASIS or Latin, then made the jump to parochial high schools. The path remains standard even though sticking with Latin, BASIS for HS becomes a little more common with each passing school year.

[Anonymous]

NP, but in a similar boat as OP.

Folks are posting about moving from CH to other parts of the city or close in (Arlington). I don't really consider any of these the true burbs. What about folks who moved closer to the beltway? Where little is really walkable, takeout is slim pickings, etc.?

[Anonymous]

We left DC for Bethesda and we ended up doing private. Before you leave for schools, make sure they’re actually better. Bethesda publics have richer parents, not necessarily better teachers.

[Anonymous]

We were in this boat, but in Shaw. We wound up staying. Interest rates just didn't make a move feasible. Older kid is going to JR, which will be a longish commute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We were in this boat, but in Shaw. We wound up staying. Interest rates just didn't make a move feasible. Older kid is going to JR, which will be a longish commute.

How? Via Hardy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We raised our kids in Arlington too, after moving to the DMV from elsewhere, not really being city people, and knowing nothing about DC. We’ve now lived in the area for decades, and moved to the city as young empty nesters several years ago.

There’s no doubt that our kids had a nice upbringing in a safe area with good schools. And they have fond memories of their childhood. And they like the DMV well enough that they have all settled here.

But none of them (four) is even considering living or raising their families in a place like Arlington (and, yes, they could afford it). It’s just that after being out of it for a while it’s now painfully obvious just how white, sterile and insular it was, and none of them want that either for themselves or their kids.

Did your kids go to Yorktown? My kids are at Gunston. It is definitely not rich, white and entitled.

Correct. Also note that W-L is 45% white and Wakefield is 25% white.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We raised our kids in Arlington too, after moving to the DMV from elsewhere, not really being city people, and knowing nothing about DC. We’ve now lived in the area for decades, and moved to the city as young empty nesters several years ago.

There’s no doubt that our kids had a nice upbringing in a safe area with good schools. And they have fond memories of their childhood. And they like the DMV well enough that they have all settled here.

But none of them (four) is even considering living or raising their families in a place like Arlington (and, yes, they could afford it). It’s just that after being out of it for a while it’s now painfully obvious just how white, sterile and insular it was, and none of them want that either for themselves or their kids.

How old are your kids? I remember myself saying that as a 20 something-er who grew up in Arlington. Now in my 30s raising kids in westover. It feels like half the kids I went to school with live here as well, raising their own kids. A LOT of us moved away for ten or so years and then a LOT of us moved back. And as another pp said, not all of arlington is that small stretch of north Arlington you describe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is sad to see how DCPS' refusal to create a rigorous MS/HS path on CH (plus the increased crime) is sending CH backwards. When I moved there in the mid-90s, no one with kids would stay there once the kids were born. My neighbors all moved to Arlington. Then slowly over the last 25 years families stayed and invested in the neighborhood elementaries, and then played the charter lottery for MS/HS but since that is nowhere near a sure thing---now there's a return to the flight to suburbia.

Not sure where you're coming from on this. We've been on the Hill for more than 25 years. Most of the families of older kids and teens around our block, families we've known for more than a decade, now stay for middle and high school. For HS, kids go to Latin, BASIS, Banneker, Walls or maybe a Catholic school like DeMatha, SJC (co-ed), Gonzaga, St. Anselm's or Bishop O'Connell or Ireton in VA. Many of these kids have gone on to great colleges. When we bought our house almost 20 years ago, most high SES families of older kids were still leaving. Catholics were more likely to stay past ES than others for parochial schools, particularly families with boys. Yes, there's been an uptick in crime lately, but it's a post Covid issue that seems likely to subside eventually. For those of us who arrived in the last century, crime doesn't seem nearly as bad as it was 20 or 25 years ago. We work in Arlington but have zero desire to leave the 5-bedroom house we bought for less than 600K for the burbs, or our terrific church and BSA and GS scouting communities either.

We are talking about PUBLIC schools. Isn’t that obvious to you?

What's obvious to anybody who's been on the Hill for decades, like we have, is that many high SES public school CH families who dig in to stay still wind up at parochial high schools. They started out in ECE programs at Maury, Brent, SWS, Watkins and a few other schools, stayed for ES, maybe did MS at Stuart Hobson, BASIS or Latin, then made the jump to parochial high schools. The path remains standard even though sticking with Latin, BASIS for HS becomes a little more common with each passing school year.

Worth nothing that hardly anybody seems to move from the Hill just for high school. If you got through public middle school in DC, you tend to stay for high school, even if you have to pay for it, yes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP, but in a similar boat as OP.

Folks are posting about moving from CH to other parts of the city or close in (Arlington). I don't really consider any of these the true burbs. What about folks who moved closer to the beltway? Where little is really walkable, takeout is slim pickings, etc.?

We moved from petworth to Oakton. We love it. We didn’t realize how much stress we lived with weighed on us - crime particularly- till we were out. We love being around more nature and letting the kids run around and having a bigger space for family visits. Our neighborhood has been really nice and we’ve met nice families but we made the effort to introduce ourselves when we moved in because you don’t have that row home proximity to help out. Have to be proactive in the burbs for sure. Our school has more diversity than our dc public did. We’ve had zero regrets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP, but in a similar boat as OP.

Folks are posting about moving from CH to other parts of the city or close in (Arlington). I don't really consider any of these the true burbs. What about folks who moved closer to the beltway? Where little is really walkable, takeout is slim pickings, etc.?

We moved from petworth to Oakton. We love it. We didn’t realize how much stress we lived with weighed on us - crime particularly- till we were out. We love being around more nature and letting the kids run around and having a bigger space for family visits. Our neighborhood has been really nice and we’ve met nice families but we made the effort to introduce ourselves when we moved in because you don’t have that row home proximity to help out. Have to be proactive in the burbs for sure. Our school has more diversity than our dc public did. We’ve had zero regrets.

um. if your public school was in Petworth, this is literally not possible. Oakton is 75% white.

People are just saying anything lol

[Anonymous]

We moved to NW, in-bounds for JR, for all the reasons OP states. ES is phenomenal. We could not have asked for a better experience for our younger child (better than their older sibling’s very well regarded hill school in every possible way). MS and HS are a bit more of a mixed bag but we do not have anywhere near the angst we had about schools living in CH. college outcomes out of JR are very respectable and if we need to fill some gaps with tutors we can. The Hill has all the drawbacks of urban living with few of the benefits (at least over NW). The hill is actually not that walkable and you need to drive for many amenities. We spend the same amount of time, or less, in the car than we did before. Wisc and Conn corridors offer much more than barracks row and H. And having Bethesda a quick drive away is very handy. We leave the doors unlocked when we are home and the kids walk everywhere. We have actually found our neighbors to be much more welcoming and friendly than our hill neighbors- but that could be block to block. Definitely more kids in our NW neighborhood though, and they all go to the public ES. Tons more opportunities for kids nearby too.

That said, I would never say any of this to the face of our hill friends so be wary of all the people who tell you they hear that people who move are miserable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We leave the doors unlocked when we are home and the kids walk everywhere.

Honestly this shocked me when I first moved to upper NW. But yes, people just leave their screen doors unlocked. The kids just run from house to house and porch to porch. It took us a bit getting used to when we first moved here. I mean I'm sure crime and stuff happen, but it really isn't a big thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Are you considering moving to NW, or outside of DC? I am asking because before we got great 5th grade lottery luck we were having the same conversations in our house. We came to the conclusion that the NW burbs were really just that; burbs. Deal and JR are the best public schools in DC, but they do not compare favorably to the best public schools in MD or VA. If we were prepared to leave CH for schools, we weren't going to nibble around the edges for JR and were going to just pull the ripcord and decamp for true burbs and objectively better schools.

I think this is how we feel, too EXCEPT since we only have one kid, we've actually considered just moving into an apartment zoned for Deal/JR that is in the densest, most urban parts of the catchment. So basically Van Ness or Wisconsin Avenue near the Cathedral. Something pretty walkable and very close to public transportation. If we did this, we wouldn't even sell our house, just rent it out until DC finishes HS.

What we could afford to buy in NW would be far from the metro and very suburban, and if we're going to do that, we might as well leave DC and get a little more value/space for our money and really good schools.

Renting an apartment IB for Deal/Wilson was a viable strategy 5 years ago. But you should proceed with caution today. The city has placed hundreds (thousands?) of homeless in the buildings along CT and WI. It’s not at all a family friendly environment it once was. Also, there is a tremendous push from the ANCs and CM Frumin to add more affordable housing in Ward 3, which is obviously noble. But, the schools are already overcrowded and there is no relief in sight. MacArthur HS is a rounding error and won’t make a dent in the overcrowding. Do your homework.

I don’t know if the numbers are that high but yeah, DC turning middle class housing into homeless shelters was … quite the move. When I was considering the move to NW and renting, I learned that there are some buildings and management companies with better reps. Also renting in a condo building or renting a house (there are some small ones) is lower risk.

Oh stop with your Ward 3 Whining. There is homeless housing and low-income housing in every ward and you're not so special that you get a pass.

Homeless shelters should be built where it's cheapest. That would also allow DC to build more shelters per the given amount of funding.

[Anonymous]

Live on the Hill, but think about moving a lot. Always wonder what it would be like to have a nicer yard, more access to nature and more kids/better schools. Actually, I don’t really wonder. That’s basically how I grew up. It’s more that I wonder or worry that we are not giving our kids the great things we had. I especially wish we had a yard. That said, I am probably less dedicated to the Hill than many people. Probably wouldn’t have bought a place here at all if my spouse could have gotten over what I think is a juvenile fixation on living in the city. Not all bad, however. There are many things to like about the hill, and our kids seem to be doing well, so maybe it’s my own worry.